The Difference Between Buzz and Brand: Why Tone, Timing and Trust Still Matter

By Elspeth Paige‑Sack, Founder & CEO, Hunter Marketing

Marketing for good. For fun. For impact.

Two high-profile campaigns captured the spotlight this summer. 

Only one walked away stronger.

American Eagle’s “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” campaign leaned on a familiar pun — genes vs. jeans — and a rising celebrity to reignite attention. It aimed to blend heritage, Americana and playful wordplay to win Gen Z relevance. Instead, it walked straight into controversy.

Dunkin’s “King of Summer” campaign, featuring Gavin Casalegno lounging poolside and attributing his summer glow to “genetics,” offered a different kind of play. Self-aware, brief and tonally grounded, it knew what it was doing — and who it was talking to.

Both campaigns went viral.

Only one was built to last.

This isn’t about personal taste. It’s about brand strategy.

As the CEO of a marketing agency that works across public service, transit, health and lifestyle sectors, I watch campaigns like these closely — not for the clicks they generate, but for the clarity (or confusion) they create. These moments shape audience expectations and industry standards.

American Eagle’s campaign launched during a period of performance pressure. Stock had declined. The brand was struggling to connect with a new generation. Sydney Sweeney brought visibility, but the message was murky.

Was it ironic? Political? Patriotic?

Was it celebrating tradition or parodying it?

Who was it speaking to, and who was it provoking?

The ambiguity invited interpretation and sparked a backlash. Accusations of tone-deaf messaging and eugenics-adjacent wordplay flooded social media. AE issued a clarification: “It’s about the jeans.” But the damage was already done.

Yes, the stock jumped nearly 24% in the short term, but that kind of spike only matters if it builds something underneath. Within days, that momentum stalled, and the stock began to slide into double-digit losses.

Dunkin’, by contrast, moved with confidence.

The “King of Summer” spot didn’t push a product. It delivered a vibe. It played in the same “genetics” space but did so with humor, brevity and no political undertone. It didn’t try to say something grand — it just entertained. And it was unmistakably Dunkin’.

There was no crisis. No need to recapture a slipping audience. Just a brand in stride, speaking its language and trusting its own summer vibes.

So what’s the takeaway — for our clients and our industry?

These two campaigns are case studies in how marketing behaves under pressure — and what happens when tone, timing and trust don’t align.

AE was trying to get ahead fast.

Dunkin’ stayed in its lane and moved forward with ease.

And while both made headlines, only one protected the brand in the process.

Buzz might lift stock temporarily.

But ambiguity — especially in a politically charged culture — is risky.

Trust is built through clarity, not controversy.

And this is where my work as a strategist overlaps with my values as a leader — and as a mom.

I think about what my daughter hears on the radio. What she picks up from tone alone. What messages we normalize in the background.

At Hunter, we’re not afraid to be bold.

We embrace creativity. We chase the idea.

But we never sacrifice clarity just to trend.

We never advise a client to stir the pot just to get the spotlight.

Being adventurous in your marketing is a strength.

Compromising your values — or your client’s values — is not.

We serve sectors where trust isn’t optional. So we build campaigns that make meaning — not just noise.

Because once a message enters the world, you can’t control the conversation. But you can control what you stand for.

Final thought:

American Eagle wanted to start a movement. It created a moment — and lost control of the message.

Dunkin’ dropped a breezy ad by the pool and walked away with cultural capital.

Because tone is power. Timing is strategy. And trust? That’s everything.